Page 30 of Forced Marriage Vows

“Trust me, sweetheart. I know.”

There’s the brush of his skin against my hand but before I can look down to see what he’s doing. He’s stepping away.

“Good night,solnyshko. Enjoy the cake.”

He walks out, leaving me reeling. More than anything, I’m shocked by how much I liked talking to him. The idea that maybe he’s not as bad as I thought starts to take root in my mind.

And I really should squash it. Before my own mind gets me in even bigger trouble than I already am.

CHAPTER 10

Mikhail

Imade a decision last night after my conversation with Anastasia.

While she’s made it quite clear she’s completely opposed to this marriage, I’m going to have to put in the work to ensure that a week from now, when she’s walking down that aisle, she’s not doing so with the drive to put a knife through my skull. I don’t need her to be willing and interested. I just want to make her like me enough that she doesn’t hate the idea of marrying me so much.

She’s already awake when I step outside of my room, ready to hit the gym. She’s in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in her hand while she stares at the cake we baked last night. A smile rises on my lips as I move over to meet her.

“Do you sleep at all,solnyshko?”

She looks up in surprise at the sound of my voice. Then she relaxes when she notices it’s me, returning her attention to her coffee.

“I could ask you the same question,” she returns lightly, her eyes moving over my outfit, which consists of a white tank top and gray sweatpants. “Where are you off to?”

“The gym. Would you like to join me?”

“I’m not a fan of exercise,” she says, wrinkling her nose. It’s adorable.

“Why not? It can be fun.”

“I’m also pretty sure I don’t want to be taking advice about what is and what isn’t fun from you.”

“Come on, sweetheart. You owe me from helping you out with that cake.”

She frowns. “I’m pretty sure I already got you back for that. I provided you first aid.”

“And I’m forever in your debt for that one selfless act,” I say sarcastically, to which she rolls her eyes. “If you come with me, you’ll get a reward.”

She wrinkles her nose again. “You do realize I’m not a dog, right? I’m not going to roll over just because you asked. You can’t teach me tricks.”

My eyes are intense as they settle on her. “Not even a few?”

“Go away, Morozova.”

“I will if you come to the gym with me,” I return. “Just agree now and save us both the energy, sweetheart. I never back down until I get what I want.”

“Fine,” she says on a sigh. “I might as well, seeing as you’ve left me nothing to do in this godforsaken house.”

“I’ll get you your laptop and cameras today,” I assure her.

She leaves the kitchen to get ready. When she returns, something inside of me tightens. My gaze simmers with heat as I take in her short black biker shorts that rest over her ass and a cream sports bra. It wouldn’t be problematic if her breasts didn’t look like they were about to spill out of the material. My dick twitches in my pants.

I clench my jaw as I walk over to her. “Go change,solnyshko,” I order.

When she smiles, I know she wore the outfit entirely on purpose.

“No, you said we were going to the gym. This is gym attire,” she argues. “I even wore the sneakers you got me.”

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